Assault on Sistani’s representative unveils rejection of marja'iyya’s practices

In a sign of simmering anger within the Iraqi society and rejection of the Shia marja'iyya’s practices, the official representative of Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani in Iraq, Sheikh Abdul Mahdi al-Karbalai, was assaulted during Friday sermon in Karbala.

According to observers, although Iraqis renounce violence and terrorism, assaulting al-Karbalai bears messages that should not be ignored, the first of which is that Iraqis have had enough of the Shia clerical establishment, which owes allegiance to Iran.



Iraqis, both Shias and Sunnis, are no longer believing in the Shia marja'iyya’s fatwas and policies, they noted.

Iraqis got tired of the marja'iyya’s fatwas, which only serve Shia militias and Iran’s interests not Iraq’s, they further stated.

Assaulting Karbalai is an implicit message sent by Iraqis to Sistani himself to change his loyalty and issue fatwas that serves the interest of Iraqis not Tehran, they added.

Karbalai survived an assassination attempt during Friday sermon in Karbala.

In a video obtained by the Baghdad Post, Karbalai appeared terrified to death after being attacked while addressing the Shia worshipers in Karbala.

According to insiders, the assailant is a Shia Iraqi who opposes the presence of marja' in Iraq.




Most of Shias in Iraq are blaming Sistani for issuing fatwa of jihad against ISIS, which led to the formation of the Iranian Militias in Iraq and Syria (IMIS), the militias that have committed heinous and sectarian crimes against Sunnis and Kurds, analysts said.

Sistani issued fatwa for fighting ISIS in 2014 following the terrorist group’s takeover of large swathes of Iraq. But his call to arms has led to the formation of IMIS. The Shia cleric’s fatwa has backfired as it caused destruction and bloodshed at the hands of IMIS terrorists.

Commenting on the incident, former prime minister Nouri al-Maliki said that assaulting the representative of Sistani is “unprecedented.”



The incident has revealed a doctrinal deviation supported by suspect parties that recruit ignorant people as tools to achieve their malicious goals, Maliki wrote on Twitter.

Karbala governor Aqeel al-Tarihi denounced the assault on Karbalai, accusing “deviant groups” of attacking the representative of Sistani.

The assault on Sistani’s representative is not a criminal incident masterminded by deviant parties as Maliki claims, analysts told The Baghdad Post.

It is an underlying message sent by Iraqis to the corrupt Shia clerical establishment so that it alters the sectarian course it undertakes, they added.

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